Colchester

Colchester - The oldest recorded town in Britain

Mark Steel returns for a seventh series of the award-winning show that travels around the country, researching the history, heritage and culture of six towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness, and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for the local residents.

"The oldest hot cross bun in the world was baked in Colchester"

Mark visits the Essex town of Colchester and walks through the streets where 'Emperor Claudius once rode triumphantly on the first elephant in Britain', before Boudicca burnt the place to the ground, that was. He visits 'Jumbo', the town's iconic, Victorian water tower and he delves into the history of Colchester Zoo. Mark also discovers how several nursery rhymes have their origins in Colchester and he investigates the town's rivalry with Chelmsford.

In this series Mark visits Stockport in Greater Manchester, Colchester in Essex, Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire, The Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames, Lynton in North Devon and the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.

Written and performed by ... Mark Steel
Additional material by ... Pete Sinclair
Production co-ordinator ... Hayley Stirling
Producer ... Carl Cooper

A BBC Radio Comedy production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2016. .